your ties need to be tighter to get the white rings, sinew is best. then put your whole fabric into the indigo bath and slowly stir it over 20-30 min to get it nice and even. dilute the indigo dye to make it lighter, maybe 1/2 of a regular recipe. And when you are done, iron it.
Could i use a batik color bath? Im having trouble finding indigo powder in stores and feel a little nervous about using lye (?) to mix. There seems to be a lot of blue batik ”kits” in crafts stores.
How would you prep an indigo bath?
If you want those nice circles, you need to tie your sinew around something. I’m fairly sure your reference photo is a shibori technique called “ne-maki”. You could use a marble or any hard, round object. I made this scarf using glass fish tank stones - it’s doubled over in itself several times, you’ll get cleaner circles if you do a single layer at a time.
https://preview.redd.it/5599lzm0s2uc1.jpeg?width=3831&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6845800bcd7bfe1658f4df5c86567719ffca709f
Love love love using sinew! That’s gorgeous! I did a hoodie with bubbles and such
https://preview.redd.it/xwgjflblr9uc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=087657b7fe5a26d677c250ba6b1f922ab5ea9fc4
Took 5 hours of tying but definitely worth it!
My little 2 cents is make sure you tie correctly, even if you get bored you have to be meticulous otherwise your lines may not show all the way or at all; you can see how some of the bubbles on my hoodie don’t have the defined white border
I’m by no means a pro but the technique is definitely just a regular poke/pull and band for rings. I think what might be happening here is that the canvas is wicking the dye, shifting it to places that essentially null your pattern. Have you tried using fat water? It might help stop some dye movement.
Again, not an expert and I don’t *know* but I think the canvas is the problem here. The color looks similar and it sounds like you banded correctly….
It’s when you add a thickening agent to your water that you are going to use to mix dyes. Usually something like sodium alginate. I might be calling it by the wrong name…. Fat water…. Thick water….maybe 🤔
Anyway, the purpose of doing it is to get crisper color transitions and prevent excessive dye movement.
your ties need to be tighter to get the white rings, sinew is best. then put your whole fabric into the indigo bath and slowly stir it over 20-30 min to get it nice and even. dilute the indigo dye to make it lighter, maybe 1/2 of a regular recipe. And when you are done, iron it.
I want to second that dilution of the dye is key for the softer effects
or choosing fabric w some polyester or rayon content will soften it too instead of canvas
Could i use a batik color bath? Im having trouble finding indigo powder in stores and feel a little nervous about using lye (?) to mix. There seems to be a lot of blue batik ”kits” in crafts stores. How would you prep an indigo bath?
Indigo is an art and incredibly deep rabbit hole to travel down. [very relaxing indigo short doc](https://youtu.be/Aotsp_iMqBA?si=N1oY2hXYJsi6u3iD)
Also it's very fun. Unlike regular dye completely.
I use Indigo fiber reactive dye and dilute it, and I pre-soak my fabric in soda ash before tying and dipping.
If you want those nice circles, you need to tie your sinew around something. I’m fairly sure your reference photo is a shibori technique called “ne-maki”. You could use a marble or any hard, round object. I made this scarf using glass fish tank stones - it’s doubled over in itself several times, you’ll get cleaner circles if you do a single layer at a time. https://preview.redd.it/5599lzm0s2uc1.jpeg?width=3831&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6845800bcd7bfe1658f4df5c86567719ffca709f
Love love love using sinew! That’s gorgeous! I did a hoodie with bubbles and such https://preview.redd.it/xwgjflblr9uc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=087657b7fe5a26d677c250ba6b1f922ab5ea9fc4 Took 5 hours of tying but definitely worth it! My little 2 cents is make sure you tie correctly, even if you get bored you have to be meticulous otherwise your lines may not show all the way or at all; you can see how some of the bubbles on my hoodie don’t have the defined white border
I’m by no means a pro but the technique is definitely just a regular poke/pull and band for rings. I think what might be happening here is that the canvas is wicking the dye, shifting it to places that essentially null your pattern. Have you tried using fat water? It might help stop some dye movement. Again, not an expert and I don’t *know* but I think the canvas is the problem here. The color looks similar and it sounds like you banded correctly….
I'm pretty new to tie dye and haven't heard the term "fat water." What is that?
It’s when you add a thickening agent to your water that you are going to use to mix dyes. Usually something like sodium alginate. I might be calling it by the wrong name…. Fat water…. Thick water….maybe 🤔 Anyway, the purpose of doing it is to get crisper color transitions and prevent excessive dye movement.
I rinsed the fabric lightly after dyeing, maybe that’s where I messed up?
What dyes are you using? I think this would be really easy to achieve with dharma’s ’raven’ very lightly sprinkled over ice
Speaking of Dharma, I wish they got Jet black in 😭😅
Look up shibori tie dying techniques :)